Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism is inviting Aussie tourists to get-out of their Bali comfort zone: It is inviting travellers to mix up their Bali trip to include other islands in Indonesia. It concluded the ‘Wonderful Indonesia Sales Mission in Melbourne and Sydney. The invitation-only exhibition brought18 Bali hotels and resorts to connect with 150 Australian counterparts. The Ministry is pushing priority destinations Labuan Bajo and the Komodo National Park, Borobudur Temple, near Yogyakarta and neighbouring island Lombok. "The demand for Bali has increased however, Indonesia is so much more than Bali," said Minister of Tourism Sandiaga Uno. Almost 900,000 international visitors have visited Indonesia since January 2022, including over 100,000 Australians to Bali. The Ministry expects international arrivals to generate USD 1.7 billion in revenue from 3.6 million foreign arrivals this year.

Marriott International Inc. has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indonesia’s Ministry of Tourism to help boost the tourism recovery. The MoU includes collaborations covering destination marketing; and the development of talent and human resource competencies over three years. The collaboration hopes to provide opportunities for students or graduates of six Tourism Polytechnics with practical experiences and training within the company's portfolio of hotels and resorts. Ramesh Jackson, Indonesia's Area Vice President for Marriot International, said: "Collectively we aim to improve the experience for travellers and its people". "We look forward to establishing a long-term relationship with the Ministry of Tourism which has been working tirelessly to stimulate tourism.” In his statement, Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, conveyed that this MoU is a concrete step towards a commitment between the public and private sector, in line with President Joko Widodo's instructions to develop a more inclusive tourism. "Marriott International is the right partner for this strategic collaboration. I look forward to this fruitful cooperation and see the positive results in the near future," said Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno. With upcoming openings in Jakarta, Labuan Bajo and Manado, Marriott International operates 60 hotels and resorts in Indonesia across 19 of its global brands.

Struggling flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has sought a delay in the vote on its debt restructuring proposal. The vote was due to take place today but asked for it to be postponed until the end of the week. Airline CEO Irfan Setiaputra said it needs more time to finalise various administrative matters. It also needs to ‘harmonise the input of stakeholders’ on the restructuring proposal. Garuda entered the court-supervised restructuring last December. The restructuring process has already been extended twice. The airline says it has logged verified claims of US$9.8 billion. Garuda hopes the restructuring can reduce its debt to about $3.7 billion.

Indonesia’s Batam and Bintan islands are next on the radar for new cruise line Resorts World Cruises. It will begin cruises from Singapore to Indonesia’s nearby Batam and Bintan islands on Genting Dream from 1 July. Genting Dream will set sail two-night trips every Friday the islands which are just an hour south of the Lion City. Resorts World Cruises recently announced the ship will operate three-night sailings to Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Penang out of Singapore from 3 July.

During pandemic, the Asia Pacific region imposed some of the most restrictive travel curbs in the world. Now, with many countries opening up for the first time in two years, travel intent has sharply risen. Online searches for hotels and flights to the region have recorded surging growth according to data from digital marketing platform Sojern. It has identified signs of strong demand for immediate travel to the region, especially from Europe, Middle East and Africa. The APAC destinations most attractive are Indonesia, Vietnam and New Zealand. Indonesia is fuelled by interest in top destination Bali. The other countries in the region making up the top 10 international hotel bookings are Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and India. Based on the past 30 days, Sojern says international flight searches to South Korea are up 157.1% and Singapore up 138.5%. Countries with more conservative restrictions such as Japan have seen slower search growth during this period. Powered by artificial intelligence and traveller intent data, Sojern provides multichannel marketing solutions.

Indonesia has again called for a region-wide travel corridor for ASEAN counties to be fast-tracked. Indonesia is pushing for quicker progress on the ASEAN Travel Corridor Arrangement Framework, which has been slow. It should be implemented through individual bilateral agreements even if an arrangement between all ASEAN counties hasn’t been reached, said Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. The ASEAN bloc has been discussing a regional travel corridor since 2020.    

After numerous false starts, Indonesia has reopened to Singapore under a travel bubble. It allows travel to the nearby tourist islands of Batam and Bintan which are a short ferry ride away. Singaporeans are subject to presenting proof of full vaccination and a negative PCR test. Visitors must also have health insurance. Visas are required for tourists who are not Singaporeans or from ASEAN countries. All arrivals must also use the PeduliLindungi contact tracing app.   Read full story

Neighbours Malaysia and Indonesia are planning a travel corridor between the two countries allowing quarantine-free access for vaccinated travellers. According to a joint briefing by Malaysia Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Indonesian President Joko Widodo it would open vaccinated travel lanes from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Jakarta and Bali. It would likely begin for fully vaccinated people traveling for business or humanitarian reasons. It comes days after Malaysia and Singapore agreed to start a VTL between KL and Singapore Changi Airport.   Read full story

Indonesia's Tourism Ministry has partnered with TV network AXN Asia to promote the nation's priority tourism destinations across the region. They are launching an original TV and digital series, called AXN Ultimate Challenge Indonesia this month. It will showcase priority destinations Labuan Bajo, Mandalika in Lombok, as well as Bali. It will consist of six 15-minute episodes highlighting the different cultures, food, nature; and various activities. AXN Ultimate Challenge Indonesia premieres on AXN Asia from 25 November 2021,  and  will air two episodes each week.   Read full story

Indonesia's Tourism Minister has called for urgent action to safeguard the immediate future of cash-strapped Garuda Indonesia. Sandiago Uno said another wholesale restructuring is its only hope of surviving its current financial plight. "We should collectively back the restructuring plan since Garuda is a national flag carrier. We must do anything to save Garuda,"  he said. He said restructuring is the most viable option on the table. Other options have been put forward such as allowing state-owned charter airline Pelita Air take over Garuda's operations. Garuda Indonesia Director Irfan Setiaputra said the company is continuing steps to improve its business performance, and has been in talks with key creditors for several months. It defaulted on a large 'Sukuk' Islamic loan earlier this year and has been returning planes to lessors to cut expenditure. The government is reluctant to bail out the airline again given its huge asset-debt deficit. The airline has few major assets and nearly all its aircraft fleet are leased. "If we meet a dead-end, we will close Garuda down because injecting more state money is impossible given the company's massive debt loads," Kartiko Wirjoatmodjo, deputy for the state-own enterprises minister said last week. Kartiko added that even if it survives this latest crisis, it will emerge much smaller and long haul routes will likely be shelved. Bloomberg reported this week that it needs about $1 billion just to stay afloat and the government is open to relinquishing its majority stake, Wirjoatmodjo says. "We continue to negotiate and communicate with all creditors to reach the best settlement and debt restructuring that will improve the company's fundamental performance," Garuda corporate secretary Mitra Piranti said in a recent filing to the Indonesia Stock Exchange. Garuda is still regarded as a quality airline but has been hampered by poor leadership for years. Two former CEOs have been convicted of fraud and corruption in the past couple of years.  

The Tourism Authority of Thailand wants Malaysia and Indonesia added to the approved list of countries for the Phuket sandbox scheme. The countries are key regional markets says Sophon Tantayotai of the TAT Jakarta office. Indonesians are allowed to travel overseas but cannot use the Phuket sandbox and have to quarantine for 14 days when trravelling  to Thailand. It is still classed as high-risk despite a big drop in cases. Nongyao Jirundorn from TAT's Kuala Lumpur office says Malaysians are still bared from international travel for now. Malaysia was the second largest tourism market for Thailand pre-Covid. Nongyao says Malaysians have shown interest in the Phuket sandbox and alost 80% are now fully vaccinated.   Read full story

Indonesia has granted a permit for the country's newest airline startup Super Air Jet. It received air operator certificate from the Ministry of Transportation and will; operate a low cost model. Super Air Jet's origins remain fairly secretive. It is thought Lion Air Group is behind the startup although neither Lion Air or the new entity has confirmed this. It will start operating with three Airbus jets. Lion Air Group is the dominant player in Indonesia with its various airline brands accounting for 60% of the market.   Read full story